Saturday, July 01, 2006

A Handful Ruin it for Everyone

Every time a soldier does something wrong, or even puts himself in a position where his conduct may be questioned, it reflects on the entire organization. Such conduct makes our mission harder and puts other soldiers at risk of retaliation. It's like handing a loaded gun to the enemy and telling him to shoot you in the head.

This is an example. Let the investigation run its course. If warranted, the soldiers should be tried and, if found guilty, subject to the death penalty. If the report is accurate, and one soldier confessed, it doesn't look good.

If true, they will have made our mission longer and more soldiers will die because of what they have done. Worse, they will have given the enemy ammunition to prove that their accusations against us are true. No matter how ridiculous the accusation.

I asked bin Laden why he would kill American soldiers whose work was to restore order and allow for the distribution of food."Why should we believe that was the true reason America was there?" he replied. "Everywhere else they went where Muslims lived, all they did was kill children and occupy Muslim land."

Even more, it makes it harder for those who support us to continue their support.

To those who are tempted to do things they know are wrong: Stop it! The war is not a blank check for you to exert your power over others.

In defense of my organization: the Army is already investigating this. It didn't take a news report for us to do what was right and seek the truth in this case. I doubt that the organization responsible for torturing and murdering PFC Menchaca and PFC Tucker is doing the same.

Quite the contrary. I'm sure the people that beheaded and tortured them are being lionized as heroes.

Last thought: what purpose on Earth could the "American military official" have had by releasing this information, other than to damage our mission? That's not to say that I'm pushing for a cover up. But, if the Army is already investigating the incident, what other purpose could there be for releasing it to the press?